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In A Prison Within A Prison

Recently I was engaged by the Federal Public Defender as an expert witness to evaluate Rita, an individual found guilty of commiting 3 bank robberies. The Public Defender hoped to plead extenuating circumstances in an effort to avoid a long mandatory sentence for a third "violent" crime. Because Rita is a self-identified male-to-female, pre-op transsexual, a gender specialist was sought.

I met with Rita in a federal detention center one lovely, sunny day but the room in which we met gave no hint of the weather. I was not allowed to give my client a candy bar I'd brought. Rita is a tall, heavy-set, African American with cropped, gray hair wearing the regulation orange jump suit. Despite her appearance and dress she radiated feminine charm. I learned she was 55 years old, grew up in an intact family and was tormented and discriminated through her childhood and adolescence for her feminine behavior and interests. She was unaware of the phenomenon of transsexualism and thought she was gay for many years.

She remained at home just long enough to graduate from high school and then struck out on her own, joining a community of drag queens. She had hoped to pursue a career as a beautician but could never amass enough money to enter school. She worked the streets, used drugs and committed several petty crimes as well as some significant felonies, spending the succeeding years in and out of jail. Throughout this period, she dreamed of obtaining a sex change operation. Each of her bank robberies was motivated by the hope of getting the necessary funds; but she was caught each time in the course of her escape, netting only a heftier sentence that the time before. This time she was facing a 12 year sentence, a prospect that left her feeling hopeless about ever realizing her dream of SRS.

My task was to write a report identifying any circumstances that might speak to a reduction of the sentence. In consultation with a colleague, the poem, "Dream Deferred" by Langston Hughes came to mind.

What happens to a dream deferred?

Does it dry up
like a raisin in the sun?
Or fester like a sore--
And then run?
Does it stink like rotten meat?
Or crust and sugar over-
like a syrupy sweet?

Maybe it just sags
like a heavy load.

Or does it explode?

The poem gave me the basis of my argument, that a dream deferred indefinitely can contribute to irresponsible, anti-social behavior and a dream denied, can be the destruction of a human being.

Dr. Anderson is located at 1537 Franklin St, Suite 104, San Francisco, CA 94109, 415-776-0139.

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